Italian emigrants in Argentina created the reggianito; a South American imitation of Parmesan. In Brazil, they copied it with Parmesao. And, with the invasion of Ukraine and the trade embargo that banned a long list of food products from reaching Moscow, Russkiy Parmesan, an “alternative” to Italian Parmesan produced in the Stavropol area, has become popular in Russia. According to its producers, it is made with pasteurized milk, it matures for 12 months and "a very similar consistency and a specific intense flavor and aroma."
According to the Coldiretti association, a platform that represents half a million Italian farmers and ranchers, the value of counterfeit Made in Italy agri-food products is 120 billion euros. Italy is fed up with the popularity of its products leading to copies abroad and some sectors are beginning to take action on the matter. One of them is that of Parmesan, Parmigiano Reggiano, one of the best-known cheeses in the world, used both to flavor all kinds of pasta varieties, as a snack or to dress salads. For this reason, its manufacturers have decided to use a weapon to protect its authenticity: insert microchips, smaller than a grain of salt – 0.5 millimeters wide and 0.1 in height – and highly resistant, into the rinds of cheeses. .
It is an initiative of the Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano, the producers' association, which has been fighting against fake Parmesan for more than a century. The technology, which is in the experimental phase, is called p-Chip and is developed by p-Chip Corporation, and with it the consortium will be able to control all cheese production and its traceability in real time. According to the director of market development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of p-Chip Corporation, Massimo Baio, this microchip made of silicon is "suitable for contact with food" and among its characteristics is "great resistance to various types of products". At the moment they are only carrying out tests experimentally and so far they have been introduced in a limited number of cheeses, but the idea is that from next year they will be extended to all authentic Parmesan cheeses.
Years ago, producers already had a system to track production, a casein plate that was introduced in 2002, with an alphanumeric verification code that allowed the entire process to be followed. But now, with the microchip, it is taken to a “higher level” with the new digital labels for the food industry. The consortium emphasizes that the chip will be inserted into the casein plate that is on the outer surface of the cheese rind, not inside it, and that therefore, "there is no food risk" when consuming it.
Parmigiano Reggiano, one of the oldest known cheeses, has a protected designation of origin, which means that certain rules must be followed to produce it. The first, which is manufactured in a very specific area, in the Italian provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua to the east of the Po River and Bologna to the west of the Reno River. In addition, it can only be produced with raw milk from cows from this area, which follow a special diet based on fodder, herbs and hay from the territory. Therefore, no milk from abroad. Neither can additives be used in the production process that alter the activity of the natural bacteria in raw milk, and the only ingredients that make it up are three: this milk, rennet and salt, with a minimum maturation period of twelve months.
The origins of Parmesan go back to the Middle Ages, with monks looking for a cheese that would last over time by drying the dough and increasing the size of its pieces. Bocaccio, in his Decameron, already mentioned a mountain of grated Parmesan. All this makes it one of the most popular Italian products abroad: last year 64,202 tons were exported and more than 4 million wheels of cheese were produced.
